Man Arrested After Using Stolen Ford Trucks To Run Chop Shop

Vehicle theft has been on the rise for a number of years, but more recently, thieves are starting to target pricey individual parts such as headlights, taillights, tailgates, and catalytic converters, to name just a few. Regardless, the good old fashioned chop shop – where thieves take vehicles and proceed to dismantle them and sell the resulting parts separately – are still quite popular it seems. In fact, a man in South Carolina was just arrested after police found that he was using Ford trucks to run his own chop shop, which received vehicles from a host of other states.

According to WIS 10 News, that man has been accused of operating a chop shop in Orangeburg, South Carolina, where he used a piece of property to “house stolen vehicles, and parts belonging to stolen vehicles,” according to the warrant issued for his arrest. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) notes that the man was receiving stolen vehicles from other areas – including Kernersville, North Carolina, Polk County, Georgia, and Polk County, Florida – and falsifying their VINs.

Interestingly, SLED found nothing but stolen Blue Oval trucks at the alleged chop shop – including Ford Super Duty F-250, F-350, and F-450s –  some of which were titled as different models. The VINs displayed on those Ford trucks were “falsified with the intent to conceal the true VIN,” according to police. Following his arrest, the man has now been charged with two counts of receiving, possessing, concealing, selling, or disposing of a stolen vehicle, two counts of falsifying a Vehicle Identification Number, and operating a chop shop.

Ford has faced its own theft issues as of late, with a number of vehicles being stolen from the company’s holding lots located near various Detroit-area production facilities. However, we’ve also seen a rash of thefts occuring at dealerships and even those parking near public transportation hubs in larger cities, too.